The Grass Really Is Greener
by BlackPepper3964
Summary: Vaguely related to Just...Why? and Again. Naruto is betrayed by what should have been his home, but Akatsuki isn't what he thought it was. Instead of death, he finds a home, friends, family... and a lover?
**Hey guys, here's another one in my string of stories with Naruto having fox ears and a tail.** **So this one isn't as happy as the others, unfortunately. But I woke up with the idea – and it's sort of gives you a taste of what the longer story will be like. This scene won't actually happen, but the style and feel will be the same. P.S. Sorry to Kakashi, Temari, Sakura, every village in the Elemental nations etc. lovers – you won't like the way they are in this. I'm also claiming artistic license for a lot of what happens here - so I don't want to hear how I've gotten details wrong, and how the characters are OOC. I know. I wrote this story.
**

 **WARNING: There is mention of rape, though it isn't depicted, and years of steady abuse. Swearing is also scattered throughout this. Hopefully the comedic moments will offset the angst?**

 **Other than that though, enjoy!**

 **BP**

* * *

Both Naruto and Itachi were stunned when instead of attacking Itachi, Kakashi turned and attacked Naruto. The poor boy didn't know what was going on and it showed. His sensei twisted one furred ear viciously, making him yelp in surprise and pain. His body tensed and began to curl in on itself, which Kakashi took advantage of, slamming a foot to the back of Naruto's legs, forcing him to his knees. Naruto's hands were still reaching up to his aching ear before they were grabbed and shoved behind his back and his ears picked up the sound of the chakra restraining handcuffs before he felt them tighten on his wrists.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, pitying the wide-eyed, confused Jinchuuriki, but wary as to what the Konoha shinobi were planning.

"Kaka –" Naruto yelped when his other ear was given a rough twist, silencing him and making him flatten his ears on his head, fearful of another twist. His tail lay on the ground behind him, not moving at all apart from the odd twitch.

"Be quiet, demon." The silver-haired man hissed. Naruto looked at him, confusion and hurt shining in his eyes. He opened his mouth, but at the venomous look and the hand that was inching towards his ears, he flinched and closed his mouth, looking at the floor. Sakura stepped forward.

"Itachi, we would like to give you this piece of scum in return for your assurance that you and your organisation leave Konoha alone." Naruto's disbelieving gaze lifted to Sakura.

"But what about Gaara! This mission was to get Gaara back!" Sakura snorted, looking to Temari. He followed her eyes. Temari was staring at him emotionlessly.

"This mission was solely to get you away from the village – you and Gaara both." She shrugged. "No one wants him as Kazekage, so what better way to get rid of him than to let Akatsuki have him?" Naruto's expression twisted into a snarl, anger for Gaara clouding his features.

"He's your brother! He loves and trusts you!" Sakura calmly stamped on Naruto's tail, a grin spreading across her face when an animalistic shriek echoed from the small clearing. Itachi fought back a wince and widened his stance a little, eyeing the gasping Jinchuuriki from where he was bent over, trembling, with his tail sluggishly curling around him.

"Calm down, Naruto. No need to get so worked up." Kakashi drawled. Naruto shuddered once more before stilling and slowly settling back on his haunches, keeping his hair covering his eyes.

"Tsunade ordered this?" Itachi shivered at the lack of inflection in Naruto's voice, so different from his usual exuberant self.

"No, actually. The entire village wanted this, Danzo just gave the order." There was a slight pause.

"So you are bargaining one of the Hokage's shinobi without her knowing, at the order of a _council member_?" Kakashi's reply was sharp.

"That old bag has lost sight of what is important to uphold in the village." Naruto twitched.

"And that is what? Betrayal? Lies? Secrets? Dishonour? That bastard Danzo has _ruined_ the village!" Infuriated, Kakashi grabbed one of Naruto's ears, squeezed hard. He pulled up the boy's head to look him in the face, ignoring the loud whine of pain.

"Listen, you little monster. Danzo has done nothing other than protect the village's best interest for several years. We should have killed you earlier." He said lowly.

"So everything I know is some sort of long-term plot to wreck me emotionally as well as kill me physically?" The blonde asked sarcastically through gritted teeth. Kakashi gave him a mockery of his usual smile.

"That's exactly right." He kicked the teen away from him, closer to Itachi, who was watching the by-play in disbelief. Naruto winced as he landed, jarring his shoulder. With a groan, he rolled himself over and got back to his feet slowly. His ears twitched on his head, sending pain through him, making him shake his head. He didn't dare try to move his poor tail. He looked at Itachi briefly before turning back to his old comrades.

"I was a fool to convince Tsunade to become Hokage and save your pathetic hides." He stated calmly, the lack of venom making the observation somehow scarier. He tilted his head and then smiled mockingly. "Kurama wants to speak to you." He closed his eyes and when he opened them, they were blood red with slit pupils.

" **You're all fools. He's protected you for** ** _years_** **simply by** ** _existing_** **, and you** ** _throw him away_** **?!** " Kurama growled viciously, borrowed shoulders trembling in rage. Malevolent red chakra began swirling around him, unaffected by the handcuffs. " ** _I'll kill you all_** –" He stopped abruptly, eyes shifting back to blue and the chakra fading away. Naruto smiled, eyes closing.

"You're welcome." The smile vanished, and with it, all lingering warmth. "Leave. Leave and pray that Kurama never returns. Or me, for that matter. If I _ever_ see _any_ of you again, _I'll tear you apart_!" He suddenly snarled, startling them with his ferocity. Slowly, they gathered their previous composure and walked away, sneering weakly at him.

And when they were gone, it was as if they took all of Naruto's fighting spirit with them.

Itachi watched as the teen slumped, head hanging low, as he just breathed for several seconds. Then, with what seemed to be great difficulty, Naruto took a deep breath and lifted his head, turning to look at Itachi calmly. Itachi couldn't help himself. He took a few steps forward, brows furrowing in concern. Naruto's eyes followed him, tail hanging limply, delicately, behind him and ears still partially lowered. The look in his eyes was beyond caring, beyond any kind of fear.

"Are you –" Itachi cleared his throat. "Are you okay?" Naruto just looked at him before his eyes closed and a single tear trailed down his cheek.

"No." His eyes opened again, staring at him bleakly. "Not that it matters." Itachi could have asked why, but he knew why. Naruto knew that the Akatsuki were collecting Bijuu, extracting them from their Jinchuuriki, and therefore killing the hosts. He blinked slowly.

"Turn around." Naruto looked at him curiously before doing as he was asked. He undid the handcuffs, tucking them away in a pouch in his cloak and then walking away. He frowned when Naruto just followed him. "Why?" He didn't have to elaborate. The Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki walked beside him silently for a moment before answering.

"Because I have nothing left." Itachi glanced at him through his lashes in mild shock and despair. To think his own village, the one he'd sacrificed so much for, would do this to the one person who protected them from the Bijuu they so feared was appalling. "Because you were kind." Itachi stopped suddenly, the memory of his father calling him kind slamming into him with all the force of one of Tsunade's chakra punches.

"Don't say that. I'm not." Naruto looked at him over his shoulder, a gentle smile on his lips.

"You can't fool me, Itachi. You are gentle, you are kind, and you love your brother." Pain flashed through the blonde's eyes. "I've felt it from you the first time we met." Itachi frowned, walking up to the blond and reaching up a hand. Naruto flinched violently when the hand got near to his ear, his tail wrapping painfully around his waist. The older man paused, waiting for Naruto to relax and look at him. When he did, he gently ran his fingers along the length of the furred appendage. It flicked, but Itachi still stroked it, gently. When Naruto relaxed a little more, shoulders loosening, and his eyes looked less wary and fearful, Itachi began to talk.

He talked about when he was younger, the expectations placed on him, he talked about the night that the Kyuubi attacked, he talked about his love for his little brother. He talked about the uneasiness in the Uchiha clan, about Shisui, about the night that Shisui died, about the planned revolution that would land Konoha in civil war and cause the neighbouring nations to attack. He talked about the night of the Massacre, the pain he felt, Madara/Obito helping, the fact that his father and mother had _understood_ what he was doing, that he hated himself for causing Sasuke pain, for torturing him like he did.

By the time he finished, they were both crying silently. Naruto was sitting in his lap, tears running down his face, relaxing against him as his tail was wrapped around the arm that was attached to the hand that gently – oh-so-gently – massaged his ears, stroking and tickling the soft flesh in an attempt to comfort the Uchiha.

Naruto nuzzled under Itachi's chin, purring softly. He didn't see the soft smile that speared on Itachi's face at the movement, the tears coming to a stop.

"There is one more thing, Naruto-kun." Said teen looked up at him, blue eyes not as dull as they were before. "Akatsuki does not kill or extract the Bijuu from Jinchuuriki." He ran his fingers through blonde hair. "Instead, we allow them to be in a place where they are home, without judgment." It was true – only Madara/Obito wished to extract the Bijuu, but he had 'mysteriously' died by poison several months ago. Hope filled Naruto's eyes, a smile beginning to form on his lips.

"Really?" Itachi nodded, holding in a laugh as the tail wrapped around his arm let go to swish through the air excitedly. "Then… Gaara?" Itachi smiled at the way that Naruto was still so concerned with others.

"He's fine – unconscious, but fine." Naruto closed his eyes in a relieved smile, slumping against Itachi.

"I'm glad." Then he looked back up, a confused frown on his lips. "Then why are Akatsuki all S-class criminals?" Itachi shrugged.

"Due to the previous goal, I believe. You can't be ruthless in gaining power without villages catching on and trying to kill you. It gets worse when you start taking away the weapons that keep the Five Great Nations in balance." Naruto nodded, not really caring. If Akatsuki was taking Jinchuuriki away from villages that were treating them as weapons and caring for them, it was fine by him. He was very aware that Akatsuki's previous goal was to rule the world, trying to create peace by force. This way – caring for the weapons that hold the nations in balance – was just as effective. Jinchuuriki were very powerful and didn't respond well to negativity and abuse. Treated well, however, then they would protect and fight for whatever they believed in. Naruto sniggered. Itachi looked at him curiously, and Naruto realised that the other man hadn't stopped massaging them the entire time. He smiled affectionately.

"I was just thinking at Akatsuki will achieve world domination through Bijuu anyway, regardless of the change in actual goal." Itachi frowned, not understanding where Naruto was coming from and wary of it.

"What do you mean? We're not collecting Bijuu anymore." Naruto shook his head with a smile, shifting on Itachi's lap to straddle his hips. He gently ran his fingers through Itachi's hair without disturbing his headband.

"Don't you understand? Akatsuki take Jinchuuriki – abused, insulted and feared individuals who need support and care – and they give them what they need. Care, attention and others that understand them without fearing them. We have creatures that are animalistic constructions of chakra inside of us, so we take on some of those traits." He wriggled his tail and twitched his ears demonstratively. "Some more than others." Itachi gave a soft breath that Naruto counted as a laugh. "We _need_ attention, we _need_ love and care and compassion. It doesn't matter to us where we get it from, only that we get it. Morals aren't the most important things for us – our emotional and physical well-being is. By taking all of us in, Akatsuki are not the most powerful organisation because they have the Bijuu –" Naruto could see dawning understanding on Itachi's face. "Akatsuki are the most powerful organisation because they have to loyalty and love of those that house the Bijuu. Which, in turn, ensures the loyalty of the Bijuu themselves." Itachi's mouth was gaping open in shock and understanding, making Naruto smile mischievously, proud that he'd managed to get an Uchiha to lose that composure they were so proud of. "Much better than forcing them to do things they don't want to do, ne? Fear and hatred gets everyone nowhere."

"Kami. Just because we give them a place to live that has people as dangerous as them? As hated as them?" Naruto laughed.

"That's right." His eyes turned red. " **So don't muck it up. You earned our trust. Don't betray it.** " Naruto shook his head, eyes turned back to blue, ears perking as they did so. "Kurama." He growled playfully. Itachi shook his head at the display.

"I won't. You have my word." He looked at the blonde sitting quite happily in his lap amusedly. "Comfortable?" Naruto nodded, mischief glinting in his eyes, reminding Itachi, fittingly, of a fox.

"Extremely." Raising an eyebrow, Itachi smirked.

"You don't want to see Gaara and the others then?" Naruto shook his head.

"I do. I just…" He sighed, shoulders slumping a little and his tail wrapping around Itachi's right arm again. "I just want to spend some time with you." Blinking in surprise, Itachi still reached out, first running his hands through Naruto's hair, then moving on to his ears, massaging them. Naruto blinked slowly, a purr beginning in his throat, eyelids half-closing.

"That's fine." Itachi said lowly. He moved his right hand away and rested it at the base of the tail wrapped around his arm. He scratched softly for a few seconds and then ran his fingers through the fur, only to repeat the process again, while his left hand didn't let up on the ear it was massaging. Naruto shuddered, a guttural sound leaving his mouth. Itachi stopped completely, worried he'd hurt the blonde, but Naruto arched into his fingers, a low, keening whine escaping him.

"Why'd you stop? Don't stop!" Heat curled low in Itachi's belly, to his complete surprise, at the pleading tone. He continued, but felt somewhat ashamed at his involuntary response. Naruto began to purr again, but stopped when he smelt shame wafting from Itachi. His eyes sharpened on the other man, who looked rather guilty. Shuddering when Itachi scratched at a particularly nice spot on his tail, he moaned before getting back to business. "What's wrong?" Itachi looked at him in surprise, making Naruto, despite the pleasure coursing through him, narrowed his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Why do you smell ashamed and look guilty?" The raven looked away.

"I –" He stopped, unsure how to continue, drawing his hands away after a moment. "When I scratch your ears and tail…" Uncharacteristically, Itachi felt his face flush in embarrassment. He looked at Naruto to find him deep in thought before comprehension crossed his features and he sought the raven's gaze. He smiled gently.

"I look pleasure-drunk, yeah?" Itachi nodded. "That's because it feels good. It looks similar to sex because my ears and tail are incredibly sensitive." Naruto thought he was doing a good job explaining what was going on until he saw horror fill his eyes, but before he could say anything else, Itachi interrupted.

"Have I been molesting you?" He almost shouted. "Kami, I have, haven't I? I'm so sorry." Naruto placed his hand over Itachi mouth, shutting him up. Meeting Itachi's surprised eyes, he gave the man a mild reprimanding look.

"I wasn't finished." He let go and continued, "The ears and tail are sensitive because they have more nerve endings than in human genitals. That is why, when you touch them like that, I look like I do. It's all the pleasure of an orgasm, with none of the actual arousal." His ears twitched as he tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Though I imagine that sex while they were being touched would be amazing, that will never happen, so I don't need to worry about it." He shrugged the thought away. "But yeah, I look like pleasure-drunk because I _am_ pleasure-drunk." He scowled suddenly, looking away into the surrounding woods. "Of course, pain works the same way. Twisting my ears or stepping on my tail like those people did is _extremely_ painful." He sighed, hurt back in his eyes. "Of course, that's why they did it." He mumbled. Itachi touched his cheek lightly in concern, bring him back to what he was saying. "Anyway, you wouldn't have been the first to notice what happens when I'm 'petted'." He finished, adding little 'quotation' gestures to the word, making Itachi smile. But the guilt quickly came back.

"But I –" Naruto put a finger to his lips.

"You aren't the first to get aroused by how I look either." Itachi flushed, looking at him in surprised embarrassment.

"How did you know?" With a wink, Naruto tapped his nose.

"I can smell it." Itachi didn't think he'd ever turned this red in his life, socially awkward genius that he was. Naruto laughed gleefully.

"Why aren't you angry?" The blonde waved off Itachi's incredulous question good-naturedly.

"We can't help who we're attracted to, and like I said, I know what I look like." He sobered abruptly, looking at Itachi solemnly, worrying him a little. "Besides, not everyone was as decent as you." His ears flattened against his head slowly and his tail wrapped around his waist tightly, refusing non-verbally to elaborate further. Itachi frowned for a moment, not realising what he meant, before it suddenly clicked.

"No." He breathed. "They didn't. Not in Konoha." Naruto's hands fisted in Itachi's cloak as he looked away. That non-answer was more than enough. Sharingan spinning wildly, he hissed, " _They raped you?_ " Naruto paused.

"Not just in Konoha." He said quietly. "There were a few incidents when I was with Ero-Sennin that I didn't tell him about." Itachi looked at him in concern.

"Have you ever… told _anyone_?" Tears filling his eyes, Naruto shook his head.

"Apart from Gaara, no one would believe me. They would just say I was lying to get attention or that I deserved it for looking how I did when they stroked my ears." Tears spilled down his cheeks, encouraging Itachi to draw him into a hug, Sharingan still spinning furiously. _I'll kill them._

"Kurama." He said quietly, and waited for the change, knowing it happened when Naruto looked up with blood-red eyes and slit pupils, a knowing look in them. "Did you kill them? All of them?" Kurama sighed, sitting up fully in his lap.

" **No.** " He shook his head. " **Damn brat wouldn't let me – kept on saying that he had to protect everyone. I got a few of them though – mainly outside the village.** " Itachi nodded and took a deep breath.

"How many?" Kurama gave him a pitying look.

" **You don't want to know.** " Itachi closed his eyes, fury ripping through him, causing him to accidentally activate his Mangekyou when he opened his eyes. He didn't notice it until Kurama muttered, " **Hey, brat, turn that off. It makes both of us uncomfortable.** " He frowned, confused, until Kurama pointed at his eyes, which widened in shock.

"I haven't done that without realising in a long time." He muttered to himself, pulling the chakra away from his eyes, leaving him with his normal black eyes. Kurama smirked before switching back, eyes back to blue. Itachi softened at the painful look in Naruto's eyes. "Come here." Wrapping his arms around the man, he ran his fingers through blond hair as Naruto trembled against him. He pretended not the notice the high-pitched, pain-and-sorrow-filled whines and just held him, not saying a word.

It wasn't long before Naruto pulled away a little, looking up at him gratefully. "Thank you." Itachi shook his head with a smile, reaching up and gently massaging an ear, pleased when Naruto smiled and purred quietly.

"It wasn't a problem." They stayed quiet for a moment before Itachi spoke again. "Would you like to see the others now?" Naruto nodded, but made no move to get up. Itachi's eyebrow rose. "I can tell you're raring to go." He teased. Naruto looked up at him, pouting. He snickered, letting his eyes close for a moment. It was in this moment that he felt something wet quickly trace his jawline. He looked down at Naruto in surprise, who, to his credit, looked equally stunned. His tongue was even still slightly sticking out of his mouth. Strangely, Itachi found this quite adorable. Playfully, he licked Naruto's cheek, causing him to blink in surprise.

 _Itachi, are you done with the Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki?_ Itachi tilted his head.

"Hai, Leader-sama. I have Naruto-kun with me." Naruto seemed fascinated that he was talking to apparent thin air while communicating with this 'Leader'. His ears turned, unconsciously trying to hear what he was hearing. Itachi, amused, shook his head.

 _Good, bring him back with you. I believe –_ Leader stopped for several seconds before he heard a sigh. _I believe that Gaara wishes to see him._ He sounded resigned as he ended the communication, making Itachi give a soft huff of laughter.

"Well, Naruto-kun, I suppose we had better get you back – Gaara is bugging Leader-sama about seeing you." Naruto laughed, jumping out of Itachi's lap and waiting for him to stand.

"Then let's go!" Even though he kept his composure on the outside, Itachi was happy to see the blonde back to his usual energetic self.

* * *

The walk back to base was mostly filled with Naruto jumping around, circling Itachi and wagging his tail in Itachi's face to frustrate him. Itachi kept the same pace the entire way, content to watch Naruto jump around, and bore the tail movement with silent amusement and mild irritation. Mostly he was just glad that the Jinchuuriki had seemingly forgotten all about Konoha and what they did to him. When they were fairly close, Naruto appeared to catch a familiar scent, leaving Itachi to run after him when he chased after it.

A small smile came to Itachi's lips when he saw the red-head that Naruto called friend.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled happily, tackling the boy to the ground, making him grunt. Gaara appeared to merely tolerate the ensuing rubbing of cheeks, but Itachi could see the affectionate smile and the hands gripping Naruto's clothing at the side.

"Naruto." Gaara greeted calmly and affectionately after a few minutes. "When did you escape or –" He looked at Itachi amusedly, "– get 'captured' from Konoha?" Naruto's happy expression faded, ears drooping. Gaara frowned in concern, quickly turning into worry when he looked at Itachi and saw his anger. The blonde withdrew, settling himself on Gaara's stomach.

"Due to obvious misgivings," Naruto began, earning a nod from Gaara, "Konoha sent out a team to rescue you from Akatsuki, including me, Kakashi and Sakura. Temari joined us somewhere along the way. Only… when we got close and Itachi appeared, Kakashi attacked me and offered me to Itachi and Akatsuki, with the understanding that I would die, with the stipulation that they would leave Konoha out of whatever they were planning to do. Then they basically told me that everything I'd ever known was a complete lie and they were only friends with me to destroy me emotionally when the time came to kill me. Danzo – one of the village council members – ordered the team I was with to do what they did. They even hurt my ears and tail…" Naruto trailed off, blinking slowly. "They betrayed me…" Itachi started forward, worry clouding his eyes, but Gaara shook his head. Gaara began to sit up, and Naruto shuffled back to accommodate the movement. He held the blonde's face, forcing him to look him in the eye.

"You're not a demon or a monster. You're Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki. You have friends, in all of us, all the Jinchuuriki, and now in Akatsuki." A tear fell down Naruto's cheek, and Gaara wiped it away. He touched their foreheads together. " _Don't think about them_." He hissed fiercely. "They don't deserve you, nor did the rest of our villages for us." He closed his eyes with a small smile. "We're all together now. We're not alone. We have our brothers and our sisters and _we will never be apart again_." Itachi watched, stunned, as Gaara comforted Naruto, as only another Jinchuuriki could. It also gave him a surprising amount of insight into how Jinchuuriki thought, felt, and were treated by others, and it only saddened him. "Now," Gaara said softly, pulling away. "What about Tsunade-sama?" Naruto shook his head.

"She didn't know." His eyes widened, looking mildly sick. "She doesn't know." He repeated slower. Gaara frowned and opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but Naruto was up off his lap before he could say a word, heading to Itachi. "Can you get a message to her? I need to tell her what happened – and what the village is planning to do." Eyeing the frantic blonde, he nodded.

"Wait, planning what?" Gaara asked, standing and walking to them.

"Obaa-chan didn't know that they planned to give me to Akatsuki, and she doesn't know that, with the way that they talked about her and the way Danzo has seemingly taken control, they plan to boot her out of the Hokage seat at best, kill her at worst." His lips lifted into a crooked smile. "Not that she'll make that easy, but even she can't defeat a whole village." Itachi nodded, summoning one of his crows. A flicker of the Sharingan and it was off. With a tiny grin, Gaara rubbed one of Naruto's ears affectionately.

"Calm down. Everything will be fine." Tipping his head into Gaara's hand, Naruto hummed in agreement, eyes closing and a content smile turned up the corners of his lips.

"I know, I just worry." Itachi blinked as he noticed something.

"Ah. Naruto-kun?" Naruto opened his eyes.

"Hm?" The raven tilted his head.

"From what I've observed, you are energetic and extremely kind, if a bit dim-witted. But now, you are very intelligent, not quite so happy as you made yourself out to be, and while you have plenty of energy, you know when to calm down. Why?" Naruto blinked heavily, still trying to process the words while his ear was getting a wonderful massage. It took an embarrassingly long time to understand what Itachi was talking about and grumbled good-naturedly at a snickering Gaara, slapping his hand away so he could think clearly.

"Well that – this is quite depressing actually." He sighed, one hand on his hip, the other rubbing the back of his head. "Well, when you grow up in a village that fears the demon you hold, it's probably less scary to be a _stupid_ demon than a clever one, right? Most of my denseness was a mask. Sandaime-jiji taught me to read long before I was even in the academy and he used to let me read the books in his office. Eventually, I think I was in the second year of my official schooling, I was helping the old man solve problems in the village and helping out with the academy curriculum. I was also matching up the teams – not for my year of course." He rolled his eyes, huffing in annoyance. "Like hell did I want to be stuck with that stuck-up teme." Itachi crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised, though his eyes shined in amusement. When he remembered who he was talking to, Naruto blushed a bit. "Sorry."

"Well done, Naruto. Insult the younger brother when Itachi is right in front of you." Gaara snorted. The blonde crossed his arms.

"Well he _was_!" Then he sighed. "I know why jiji did it though. Logically it panned out. The 'dead-last' with the rookie of the year and a smart, if physically weak, kunoichi. The 'dead-last' aspires to be recognised by the rookie, the rookie can't stand to lose to the challenges the 'dead-last' gives and so stays, and the kunoichi… well, _logically_ it should have been that she reigns in the rookie with strategy and encourages the 'dead-last' to be smarter." Bitterly, he continued. "In reality, it was a complete failure. I was never stupid in the first place, Sasuke was too focussed on revenge, though it came close to us being the best of friends, and left, and Sakura had a hopeless crush on Sasuke that didn't help in her training and she was too busy beating me down because I insulted her precious 'Sasuke-kun' when I didn't encourage him outright with girly squeals." He snorted disdainfully. "The only reason she got any stronger at all was because Sasuke left and I didn't bring him back." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "As if I tried. Sasuke would have hated me. He would never have been content in that village and despite his attitude, he's never been outright cruel. He restrains himself almost constantly and has limits he'd never cross. Ever." Naruto sighed, alarming his companions slightly as he looked out into the forest. "I wonder if he's killed Orochi-teme yet." Itachi blinked in surprise.

"I knew that he went to train with Orochimaru, but wasn't he going to train Sasuke in return for his body?" Naruto laughed a little, genuinely pleased to be off that disaster of a topic.

"What, you think that Sasuke, Mr. I-will-have-my-revenge-and-no-one-will-get-in-my-way, would _willingly_ give up his body that easily?" He shook his head. "No, I made a deal with Sasuke. I'd let him go if he promised that he'd kill the bastard as soon as he was finished training. He agreed." He laughed, and Gaara and Itachi were pleased to see the ears perked and tail flicking the air behind him, showing off his better mood. "There was also some banter going on." He grinned, snickering to himself. At the curious looks, he asked, "Would you like to see?" They both blinked in surprise.

"How?" Gaara asked. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Genjutsu, of course." Itachi blinked.

"But… you can't do genjutsu." The blonde gave him a droll look.

" _Hel-lo_ , container for the nine-tailed _fox_ here. You know, the master of all things illusion and trickery?" He face-palmed at the only-just-now-realising expressions on their faces. "Naa, Itachi, try not to get out of this one?" Itachi nodded, and suddenly he, Gaara and Naruto were at the Valley of the End.

 _"_ _Going to stop me, usuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked as he stood on Madara's head, while Naruto had just arrived, landing on Hashirama's head._ Next to them, Naruto growled and muttered some very unflattering things about Sasuke, making them shake their heads. _Naruto shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. His expression was the most bored that any had ever seen it._

 _"_ _No. Why bother? You're just going to leave again." Naruto heaved a sigh, closing his eyes. "And the last thing I want is you hating me for making you do something you didn't want to do." Sasuke's eyebrow twitched._

 _"_ _You do that all the time, usuratonkachi."_ Naruto of the past and the present hissed a variety of insults at the boy in unison. Gaara snickered and Itachi shook his head in amusement. Some things never change.

 _"_ _Hey, I could always drag you back kicking and screaming in the most undignified manner possible if you want." Naruto continued as if he hadn't just exploded into insults. "All I'm saying is that I'll let you go – on one condition." Sasuke raised an eyebrow, interest plain on his face._ The three standing in the genjutsu could easily read that he didn't want to fight. _"Kill the bastard before he takes your body." Smirking, Sasuke snorted._

 _"_ _I was planning to do that anyway, usuratonkachi. You're so slow." Naruto blinked, before a slow smile crept onto his face, different from the manic grins he usually presented. He didn't even react to the insult this time._

 _"_ _That's good." He breathed, before he sniggered. "Ne, Sasuke?"_

 _"_ _What now?" Mischief was plain on Naruto's face._

 _"_ _Don't let Orochimaru take your body! I mean, that man is one to watch, you know? Biting at kids' necks and hissing at them like a snake!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke blanched before his eyebrow ticked, his eyes closing in annoyance. He grit his teeth, before launching himself across the gap, kicking the laughing boy in the chest._

 _"_ _Shut up!" Naruto continued to laugh as he dodged._

 _"_ _No – and I'd be careful of Kabuto too. It looks like Kabuto has a thing going on with the snake-man." The grin on his face was wide now, foxy in appearance. "Don't walk in on them!" Sasuke growled._

 _"_ _That's it! Forget it! Try to take me back so I can kill you!" Naruto practically howled with laughter. "Naruto!"_

 _"_ _Didn't choose the best kind of mentor, did ya?" Snarling, Sasuke tackled the boy, leading to them wrestling with each other in the dirt._ Itachi was impressed.

"How did you manage to get him so carefree? Even before, he wasn't one for rolling around." Naruto was laughing at Sasuke's reactions, but calmed down enough to reply.

"It's pretty easy – all you have to do is annoy him enough. Although," He added thoughtfully, one finger touching his lip, "I've always been able to get under his skin." He shrugged. "So maybe it was just me." They looked back to see the two boys laying on the ground next to each other panting, small smiles on their faces. After a moment, Naruto looked at Sasuke.

 _"_ _Ne, you know we're going to have to put on a show, right?" Sasuke sobered, but remained silent. "You_ are _going to have to practically kill me to make them believe we fought."_ Itachi watched a frown crease his brother's face, pain in his eyes, and wanted to smile despite the sympathy he was feeling. _Naruto sat up on his elbows, looking down at Sasuke. "I'm sorry." Sasuke closed his eyes before sitting up and looking back at Naruto._

 _"_ _Stupid village." He muttered before saying louder, "Don't be." Then he stood, stretching out a hand for Naruto to take, which he did, grinning._ Naruto dispelled the genjutsu before they saw what came next. Itachi looked at him, watching his face.

"Something happened, didn't it? Something you don't want us to see." Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto," He said warningly when the blonde didn't answer. Naruto sighed heavily.

"Both Sasuke and I don't like what happened next – a fact I know even though I haven't seen him since. I very much doubt that you two would either, you most of all, Itachi."

"Show me." Naruto groaned, frustrated.

"You don't _want_ to see it. It's not pretty, for me or for him. It broke us both." Itachi moved forward.

" _Show me_." He hissed, only to be met my Naruto's snarling face.

"Fine, you want to see? Here we go!"

 _"_ _Stupid village." Sasuke muttered before saying louder, "Don't be." Then he stood, stretching out a hand for Naruto to take, which he did, grinning. Sasuke pulled him up… and immediately formed Chidori, shoving it through Naruto's chest, the blonde's momentum pushing him further into it. Sasuke's pain-filled eyes closed, tears running down his face. Naruto choked and coughed up blood, eyes wide in shock._

 _"_ _Heh." Naruto laughed a little. "Well done, Sasuke." He winced as Sasuke withdrew the arm, catching his body as it fell to the ground. Lying on his back, Naruto put a hand to the wound, grimacing painfully, as Sasuke knelt next to him._

 _"_ _Don't say that." He bit out harshly, glaring at the injured boy. Naruto grinned up at him apologetically. "I'm sorry." He muttered after a long pause, tears still falling as he looked at the wound he'd caused. Naruto shook his head, tears filling his own eyes._

 _"_ _You know they won't believe I just let you go without you nearly killing me first." Naruto coughed painfully, blood running down his chin. Sasuke made a movement to the wound, hands glowing with green chakra. Naruto latched onto his wrist, stopping him with a shake of his head. "You know this won't kill me and they will notice if you partially heal it. I won't be able to say I've healed myself, will I? A dobe like me…" Sasuke grit his teeth, hands clenching above the blonde as he willed the chakra away._

 _"_ _I hate that village." Naruto smiled, eyes closing. He moved Sasuke's hand to one of his ears._

 _"_ _Me too." He agreed, "But some of them are my friends. Now pet me. Give me something nice before I pass out." Sasuke smiled weakly, doing as asked, encouraging a broken purr before Naruto finally lost consciousness._

Itachi blinked, tears that he hadn't realised he had shed trickling down his face. Gaara was next to Naruto, a hand on his shoulder. After a moment, Naruto spoke.

"Konoha didn't give me proper medical attention afterwards, so…" He unzipped his jacket and lifted the mesh, revealing a circular scar on his chest, dangerously close to where his heart was.

"Sasuke…" Itachi muttered. "His eyes…" Naruto looked at him and nodded.

"You noticed that, huh?" The blonde shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't mention it to him and I doubt he noticed." He gave a wan smile. "In a twisted way, I'm sort of glad. He'd explained to me before the stages of the Sharingan. For him to have achieved Mangekyou by nearly killing me, despite the fact he knew I would survive… I'm glad." Itachi stared at him, just now realising what Naruto had meant when he said that what happened had broken them both. Naruto was crying, though there was a small smile on his face, and there was something lost in his eyes. Itachi also doubted that Sasuke knew that not all of his tears were merely salt water. He may have realised it later, but in that moment he didn't have a clue. Naruto took a deep breath, wiping at his face. "Come on then, I want to meet this leader of yours." He said, shaking his head and banishing his previous mood.

Itachi nodded, taking a deep breath himself, and led the two into the base.

* * *

Naruto was incredibly surprised when he was introduced to the leader, Pein. This was the first time he'd seen the Rinnegan, but he still knew what bloodline you had to have to get it.

"Uzumaki." He muttered, frowning, ignoring the surprised look on Pein's face. "Either that or you've managed to mix the Senju and Uchiha bloodlines in your body, which I supremely doubt." Pein blinked several times. Then he turned to Itachi.

"How does he know?" Itachi watched in amusement as Naruto huffed in annoyance.

"'He' is right here and can answer you himself if you ask him." He bit out. Sweat-dropping, Pein turned back to the Jinchuuriki.

"My apologies. How did you know my heritage?" Naruto smiled, bad mood gone. One hand moved to his hip.

"Uzumaki is the only heritage that can activate the Rinnegan naturally, not to mention the fact that I can tell there is no life-force in that body of yours. Ero-Sennin told me about a student he had once, a kid who awakened the Rinnegan. He had the red hair characteristic of Uzumaki." He grinned. "Which means that you are family!" His tail wagged behind his excitedly, ears twitching on his head. Deidara walked over.

"Why do you have them, un?" He asked, pointing at the furry additions. Naruto turned to him smiling.

"Kurama gave to me to keep me alive." He tilted his head curiously. "What's your name?"

"Deidara. I'm from Iwa, un." Naruto grinned at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, from Konoha." He paused for a moment. "How was Iwa doing before you left? After the war?" Deidara blinked, surprised.

"We coped I guess," He replied after a moment. "Why?" Naruto brought his tail around to his front, fiddling with it sheepishly.

"Maa, my dad was Namikaze Minato… and my mother was Uzumaki Kushina." Deidara blanched.

"Konoha's Yellow Flash and Red Death?!" Naruto nodded. He whistled. "Damn kid, you got real lucky with your parents, didn't you?" Waving his hands in from of him, Naruto shook his head, an embarrassed flush coming to his face. Behind the two, Itachi smiled as he was joined by Kisame.

"Quite the energetic one, isn't he, Itachi-san?" Itachi nodded, watching as Deidara showed Naruto his clay, making the teen come closer, ears turning to listen to what was going on around him as his attention was taken in by what Deidara was doing.

"Konoha didn't appreciate him at all." He mused, turning to his partner. "They betrayed him, gave him up to us freely." His brows furrowed. "They tortured him, stepping on his tail and twisting his ears." His Sharingan flared to life, eyebrow lifting in question. Kisame nodded, and Itachi showed him exactly what happened. He blinked in surprise when the genjutsu ended.

"They really did that?" Itachi let the Sharingan fade again, nodding.

"That's not all they did either." He narrowed his eyes. "Konoha civilians and shinobi have been raping him for years." Kisame's mouth opened and closed repeatedly. He closed his eyes, groaning and running a hand through his hair.

"Fuck. Poor kid." Itachi nodded.

"There were a few incidents when he was training with Jiraiya-sama too. He's never told anyone apart from Gaara. And me." Kisame grimaced, guessing why he didn't if his village went out of its way to kill him. They heard a happy yip coming from Naruto, who jumped up from where he was looking at one of Deidara's sculptures.

"Yagura! Isobu!" Kisame's gaped, and if Itachi didn't have his control he would have done so as well. The composed Yondaime Mizukage was laughing gently, rubbing at Naruto's ears as he was hugged.

"Hello Naruto. How are you?"

Flashing a grin at him, Naruto replied, "I'm great! How are you?" Yagura nodded. Undeterred by the calm demeanour, Naruto shot a look behind the shorter man. "Is everyone else here?" Yagura shook his head.

"Everyone apart from Killer B and Gyuki." Naruto sighed with a smile.

"Well, I'm not really surprised. Killer B loves his brother – and he's treated better than the rest of us." The Akatsuki that were in the room were silent, sympathy filling them.

"Well then, Naruto. I believe that Gaara and Yagura can show you around. I'm sure you're eager to see everyone else." Naruto bounced in place, nodding. Yagura sighed and beckoned him to follow him, which he did in much the same manner that he did when Itachi was taking him to the base, causing a few laughs.

* * *

Several days later, Itachi sought out Naruto, finding him relaxing against a tree, dozing lightly. His tail was lazily moving back and forth on the grass.

"Naruto." He called quietly. Naruto's ears perked up and one of his eyes opened inquiringly. "Tsunade sent a message back." He held out a piece of paper, startling Naruto into sitting up, reaching for it.

 _Brat,_

 _Thank Kami you sent the crow. Team Kakashi came back and reported that you had been taken by Akatsuki and that they weren't able to save Gaara. Thank you for telling me about the threat. I'll soon be giving up the Hokage position – I might as well give it to Danzo, rather than risk him taking away all power from the next poor Hokage. Maybe I'll go and find Jiraiya, seeing as he's wondered off again._

 _Tsunade._

Naruto sighed in relief. "At least those two will be fine." He stretched. "I wonder if I should let Sasuke know that I'm not in the village anymore. He'll wonder where I am the next time they go and try to get him to return." Itachi thought for a moment.

"We could," He began slowly, "Go and visit Sasuke." Naruto straightened up, ears twitching and tails moving quickly, grinning.

"Could we? That would be great!" Itachi smiled, but tried to calm him down a little.

"We would have to get permission from Pein, and another member of Akatsuki would have to come with us." Naruto levelled an amused look at him.

"Don't think I haven't noticed that you've automatically included yourself in this visit." Itachi frowned playfully at him.

"I only want to see how he's doing. I know he still hates me, so the extra member is so that they can stay with you and I can watch from a distance." He said, rolling his eyes. Naruto stood, dusting himself off. He walked past Itachi back to base.

"Well come on then. We might as well ask now – it'll take weeks to actually find the bastard." Itachi nodded, before sighing, tugging on Naruto's shoulder to get him to stop a minute. He ignored the curious look and took out a comb that nearly all the members of Akatsuki had gotten in the habit of carrying around – simply for the reason that nearly all of them enjoyed grooming Naruto. Itachi gently took hold of Naruto's tail and began to comb out all of the leaves, twigs and blades of grass that had gotten stuck in it. The blonde blushed a little. "Ah. Thanks." Itachi didn't reply, merely tucking away the comb and nodded for them to continue on back to base.

Pein inwardly smiled as Itachi and Naruto asked if they could visit Sasuke. Though Itachi said that Naruto wanted to see him, he knew that Itachi also wanted to.

"Of course. Take Kisame with you." He almost couldn't stop himself from laughing when Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"But he smells like fish." He rolled his eyes at the comment.

"You will have to take him – Deidara doesn't like Itachi, Kakuzu freaks you out on purpose with his strings, Hidan smells like blood, according to you, and Sasori also freaks you out because you can't hear a heartbeat." Naruto shuddered.

"Fair enough. Let's go get Fish-face then." Itachi snickered as Naruto left the room.

"He does like all of them." Pein nodded.

"I know. The complaints are funny though. Well, except for Zetsu." Itachi frowned at the reminder. Zetsu had tried to chop off one of Naruto's ears because he wanted to experiment on it. The rest of the Akatsuki had not been able to stop the blonde and the rest of the Jinchuuriki from tearing him apart, too surprised by the action.

"COME BACK HERE, FOX-BRAT!" They heard Kisame shout, followed by Naruto's teasing laughter.

"Can't catch me!" He called, running into the room, immediately hiding behind Pein. Kisame came around the corner, and Itachi had to look away, lest he lose his precious composure. Naruto had drawn fish on Kisame's cheeks, and judging by the fish in his hand and the fact that one of the blue man's cheeks were red, Naruto had slapped him with a fish to get his attention.

"Kisame." Pein rose one eyebrow. Seething, Kisame looked at him. "You and Itachi will be accompanying Naruto to find Uchiha Sasuke."

"You want me to help the annoying brat?!" Kisame bristled, irritated. Naruto peeked out from behind Pein, eyes wide and ears flat.

"Please?" Kisame looked at him and swore.

"Fuck you and your adorableness." He muttered before sighing, much to Pein and Itachi's amusement. "Fine. When do we leave?" Naruto jumped at Kisame with a happy yip and was somehow ignored with a grimace, which the two watching could see was reluctantly forming into a fond smile.

"When you're done washing off the markings on your cheeks." Naruto snickered at Pein's words. Kisame sighed long-sufferingly, shaking off Naruto.

"All right. I'll be right back."

* * *

The search took several weeks and eventually they asked Sasori where Orochimaru may be. The only thing he could give them was somewhere that was close to Hi no Kuni, though outside the boarders. It was helpful though, as a sudden explosion directed them the rest of the way one morning. They ran over to the area, only to find Sasuke landing on the edge of a crater. Naruto snickered.

"I bet someone woke him up. He's always such a grump in the morning." Itachi rolled his eyes at the comment. Kisame joined Naruto in the snickering. He hushed them, getting them to focus on what was going on. The smoke cleared, revealing a Konoha shinobi standing in what apparently used to be a room and some corridors. A familiar pink-haired kunoichi joined him, and so did a jounin – though not Kakashi. Naruto blinked in surprise. "Tenzou." Itachi looked at him sideways. "Root is involved." He looked at the unfamiliar shinobi. "Fuck." He cursed. "They're going to try and kill him. Sakura probably doesn't know."

Sasuke looked down at them. "Sakura." He greeted. He looked at the other two. "And no Naruto?" He mocked. Sakura scoffed, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"As if that demon deserved to live." She said dismissively. The three behind a rock watched as Sasuke's shoulders tensed and his eyes narrowed.

"Oh?" He murmured, sounding uninterested. "And what happened to him?"

"Oh, we gave him to Akatsuki ages ago. He's definitely dead by now." Sakura stated, sounding as proud as ever. "That old bag Tsunade retired as Hokage soon after, saying that Konoha had betrayed one of its own." She shrugged. "Not that that demon belongs in Konoha. Danzo ordered us to give him to Akatsuki when we when to 'get Gaara back'. Pathetic being still thought that we all cared about him." Sasuke nodded slowly, eyes closing.

"I see." He sighed. "I suppose that even though Itachi was supposed to be the first to die, you will do just fine." Itachi blinked, looking at the frowning Naruto. His brother held his bond with Naruto in such high regard that he would hate the ones who supposedly killed the blonde _more_ than the murderer of the clan that he so loved? He turned back to his brother to see him beginning to draw his sword, and was surprised when a hand pushed it back into its sheath. Itachi blinked, how did Naruto move so fast?

Sasuke turned to look and was shocked when familiar blue eyes grinned back at him. "Naruto?" The blonde flicked his tail cheekily.

"The one and only. Long time no see, Sasuke." He turned to look at Sakura coldly. "Hello, Sakura." The pinket had paled.

"Naruto?!" She shrieked. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be dead!" Naruto snarled at her, not removing his hand from Sasuke's wrist.

"No thanks to you, you traitorous bitch." His venomous gaze travelled to her companions. "Tenzou." He greeted flatly. "I would advise you and your subordinate abandon your mission. You won't get past me." Tenzou hesitated before nodding, bowing his head.

"Sai. We must go and report to Danzo-sama." Naruto shook his head and jumped down into the crater before the two could leave.

"I don't think you will be." He said, casting a genjutsu and planting a suggestion that they don't talk about his presence at all. He let them go soon after, dismissing them entirely. He looked at Sakura through his lashes.

" _Demon_!" She screeched. "How dare you survive! Sasuke-kun should have finished the job when he left Konoha!" Sasuke flinched before dropping down into the crater as well. Itachi nodded at Kisame to get closer. Sakura stepped towards Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, now's your chance! You can finish off the demon and then come back to Konoha!" Sasuke sneered at her.

"Pathetic." He muttered. "If you're going to try to kill him, you might as well do it yourself." He criticised. "Naruto, I trust that you healed well?" He turned his attention to the blonde, his eyebrows furrowing when the blonde looked at the floor, his hand twitching to his chest. "Naruto?" Sakura interrupted him.

"Sasuke-kun! Who cares if that demon healed well or not?!" Naruto looked up with a snarl.

"Sakura, if you don't shut up, I'll keep my promise and _rip you to pieces_." Sasuke blinked at the tone, while Sakura flinched and took a few steps back. "You have _no idea_ the amount of restraint I am using right now." Naruto suddenly looked thoughtful. "Actually, why am I keeping you alive anyway?" He grinned, looking feral, and slunk towards Sakura's retreating form. "Come on, Sakura, come just a little closer." He cooed dangerously, leaving Sasuke wondering if he was in another dimension. "Before you die, what's Kakashi doing? Is he dead yet? I might go after him next…"

"N-N-Naruto." Sakura stuttered, holding out a hand pleadingly, "Come on, aren't we friends?" She asked, offering a weak smile. Naruto froze, drawing back.

"… Friends…?" He asked, eyes wide, disbelief covering his face. Had Sasuke been prone to such things, he would have face-palmed – as it was, Kisame did instead. Sakura nodded, smiling a little wider.

"That's right, friends!" The blonde snickered, then giggled, and then was howling with laughter until tears streamed down his face. He calmed slowly, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Well, I suppose, if nothing else, you gave me a good laugh." He mused, sighing in mirth before scowling at her. "Once, maybe, before you betrayed me!" He hissed. "You very nearly broke me, if it wasn't for Itachi." Naruto didn't notice his slip, but the rest of them did. Itachi and Kisame cringed, while Sasuke looked at the blonde curiously. Sakura grinned viciously.

"So you slept with the enemy like the slut you are!" Naruto flinched, now realising what he'd said, but scowled at her.

"Don't you dare remind me – and I didn't _sleep_ with Itachi." His eyes turned red, the whisker marks on his face darkening. " **We trust him. We trust** ** _all_** **of the Akatsuki.** " Kurama grinned, his malicious chakra coating him. " **Naruto won't save you this time, wench.** " He leapt at her, chakra shaping like a claw and scraping across her face, making her cry out and stumble back. While she was off balance, Kurama tackled her to the floor, wrapping his hands around her neck. " **Usually, I'd tear you apart so I could feel your blood coming out of your body, but I don't want your disgusting blood tainting my person, so the hands-on approach it is!** " Kurama mused happily. After the bitch was dead, Kurama stood and looked at Sasuke, who simply gazed impassively back. " **Don't hurt him.** " He warned. The raven's eyes narrowed, mildly insulted.

"I've never wanted to." Kurama nodded, switching back. Naruto's blue eyes blinked at him. "So… you trust the Akatsuki?" Naruto nodded. "And my brother?" The blonde's ears twitched, shifting on his head to catch every sound they could. His tail wriggled behind him, the fur puffing up a little. He nodded. Sasuke was quiet for a moment, contemplating it. Then he shrugged. "Fine." He chuckled at Naruto's confusion. "I know you, dobe. You don't trust people who aren't kind to you. I'm not going to kill people you trust." He reached out, fondling one of Naruto's ears. "It's a small enough group already." The teen grinned at him.

"Thank you. And it's not just the Akatsuki – all of the Jinchuuriki are there too!" He announced excitedly, tail flicking through the air. Sasuke watched him with a smile and fond look in his eyes as he explained what the Akatsuki was really like. _Animated as ever,_ he laughed inwardly. Itachi leant against the rock he was hiding behind, stunned. His brother… wasn't going to kill him? Because Naruto trusted him? He laughed a little. Typical Naruto.

After a few minutes, Sasuke interrupted his friend. "And? Where are they?" Naruto tilted his head.

"Who?" The raven rolled his eyes.

"Your escorts. If what you say is true, no way is Akatsuki going to let a Jinchuuriki go out of the base on their own." Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"I guess not. Kisame! Itachi! You can come out now!" The both of them jumped down next to Naruto, who had a sudden thought. Sasuke looked at the two for a moment, inwardly gaging his own response to his brother, before finding that he could let it go and nodded a greeting to them. He trusted Naruto. "By the way, is Orochimaru dead yet?" Sasuke tilted his head.

"Not yet, why?" Naruto nodded, mock-wisely.

"I just wanted to know if I was just seeing an angry ghost, that was all." Sasuke blinked.

"Oh. I see." He gave a small grin to Naruto. "Help me out?" The blonde grinned back, entering Tailed Beast mode.

"Sure." And the two left Kisame and Itachi gaping – no matter how undignified it was – as they seamlessly worked together, defeating the Sannin and Kabuto with barely any effort. They didn't even need to say a word to each other. They landed near to the two Akatsuki members, Naruto dismissing the chakra that covered him, and he turned to Sasuke with a mischievous smile. "So, Sasuke." Sasuke's shoulders dropped, eyes closing.

"Yes, Naruto?" The smile widened into a grin, making Kisame grin in anticipation and Itachi shake his head.

"You didn't let Orochimaru touch you right?" Sasuke grit his teeth in annoyance.

"No, Naruto."

"You didn't walk in on him and Kabuto either, right?"

"Naruto!"

"Hah! So you did!"

"I did not!" Naruto saw the shudder and nudged Sasuke in the arm.

"You heard them though, didn't you? Don't deny it – I saw you shudder." Sasuke glared at him.

"Shut up, usuratonkachi."

"How many times?"

"Shut up."

"More than once?"

"Dobe." He growled.

"In one night? Oh my!"

"Naruto!" He couldn't take it anymore and tackled Naruto. "Shut up!"

"Never!" Naruto laughed in triumph. "Did they do it during the day too?"

" _Stop making sounds with your mouth_!"

Kisame was laughing unashamedly, while Itachi was just chuckling, shaking his head in amazement. It'd been three years, but the friendship between them was still strong – and so was Naruto's ability to irritate the younger Uchiha into doing something so blithe as wrestling in the dirt and yelling. Eventually, Naruto escaped the Uchiha's grip and leapt out of the crater, Sasuke following quickly, chasing the Jinchuuriki. Kisame and Itachi copied them.

* * *

Later, when they had all settled down for the evening near a river, they patted themselves off of all the dust while Itachi and Kisame watched them glare and mutter at each other.

"How do you always –"

"Well, if you weren't so –"

"You're still making sounds with your mouth. Stop it." Sasuke hissed at him. Naruto scowled back.

"Duck-butt." The raven's eyes narrowed dangerously.

" _What did you just say_?" Naruto clearly had no sense of self-preservation because he continued talking.

"I said 'duck-butt' because you still have duck-butt hair. Why didn't you do something with it? Then I wouldn't _still_ be able to call you duck-butt." Sasuke just growled and shoved him into the river, grinning maliciously when Naruto screamed that it was cold.

"You deserved it." He replied haughtily, turning his head away. He froze before his head whipped around again when freezing cold water hit his entire left side. He was about to retaliate when he heard a sound that he hadn't heard in years. He discreetly looked at Itachi, who had his head tossed back in unrestrained laughter. Anger gone, he made a show of huffing before turning his head away from them all to hide the smile on his face. He walked onto the river to Naruto and held out a hand to help him up. Naruto grinned, taking it and letting Sasuke pull him up. Itachi stopped laughing as they both froze suddenly, staring at each other, and eyed them sadly. Naruto swallowed, ears flat.

"It's not the same." He insisted. "We never have to do that again." He smiled a little, ears perking encouragingly. Sasuke didn't speak for a long moment, staring at him.

"You didn't tell me." Naruto looked away, "You didn't say anything about my eyes." The blonde shrugged.

"I figured you had enough on your plate." Sasuke sighed.

"Usuratonkachi." He muttered chidingly, at odds with the way he began to massage one of Naruto's wet ears. He flicked it gently. "Let's dry off." He rolled his eyes as they walked back to the fire. "Honestly, getting me wet." Naruto scowled playfully.

"What, teme, never been wet before?" Sasuke didn't deign to reply, sitting by the fire. Being the person more drenched, Naruto just took off the jacket and mesh he was wearing, laying them down on a nearby rock, leaving his trousers on as he stretched his legs near the flames. Sasuke turned to tease him, but froze as he caught sight of his chest, mouth opening slightly and eyes widening. Busy wringing out his tail, Naruto didn't notice. Itachi did, but before he could say a word, Sasuke spoke, voice strangled.

"You didn't answer me, before." Not looking up, Naruto made an enquiring noise. "When I asked if you healed well." Naruto froze, just now recognising that his chest was exposed. Normally it didn't matter – but Sasuke _wasn't_ _there_ normally. Their gazes met, one with guilty pain, the other with sorrowful apologies.

Without needing to be asked, Naruto explained quietly, "When they took me back to Konoha, the medics refused to heal me properly, instead sabotaging my healing and by the time Obaa-chan arrived, it was too late to reduce the scarring." Sasuke hissed out a breath through his teeth.

"I knew I should have healed some of it." He said lowly, tone bitter. Naruto shook his head slowly.

"You know why you couldn't." He looked into the fire, leaning back on his hands. "It was fine. I was unconscious for most of it anyway." He dismissed. Sasuke watched him for a moment before reaching out and tracing the scar.

"… I still dream about it." He admitted quietly, for Naruto's ears only. Kisame and Itachi watched as whatever Sasuke had said to him caused his ears to droop sadly, eyes closing. The young raven shifted closer as Naruto's tail curled around his arm, stroking his skin.

"Me too." Naruto murmured back, eyes opening to look at his friend. "I'm sorry, for putting you through that. I made you do something you didn't want to do, and I caused you unnecessary grief." Sasuke growled, irritated. He tugged on the blonde's tail, pleased when the motion drew Naruto out of his funk, a yelp escaping his throat.

"Stop it. Stop with the self-depreciation and the guilt." Naruto was well-aware of the hypocrisy of the demand, as was Itachi and Kisame. "If I blame anyone, it's that fucking village." Naruto's eyes widened. He'd never heard Sasuke swear before.

"I could have come with you. I didn't _have_ to go back to the village." Sasuke scowled.

"As if I would have let you. I wasn't going to let you within a ten-mile radius of Orochimaru. I still remember what he did in the Forest of Death." Naruto looked away. He'd spent a week coping without Kurama, unable to communicate with him or use his chakra. "He'd do it again and you know it." He sneered. "Not to mention Kabuto. He was far more sadistic than any medic has a right to be." Itachi tilted his head.

"What happened in the Forest of Death?" Sasuke was too busy glaring at Naruto so the blonde answered, turning his head to the Akatsuki members.

"Orochimaru place the Five Point Element Seal over Kurama's original seal. I passed out, but when I woke up, Kurama was gone, I couldn't use his chakra and my own chakra wasn't co-operating due to the fact that my dad specifically designed the seal so that Kurama's chakra feeds into mine." He closed his eyes, sighing.

"I was just beginning to cope with the Cursed Seal that Orochimaru placed on me, but Naruto panicked." Sasuke added, voice low, looking at his brother and Kisame. "He was functioning, but just barely. He'd spent his whole life being able to hear Kurama, having him support him and be his first friend." His eyes softened. "When that was gone… well, I'm surprised he didn't just lock down." Naruto sent him a half-hearted glare.

"I almost did. Luckily my mask of being the village idiot was an automatic part of my personality, otherwise people might have noticed – not that they would have cared if they did." He added in a bitter tone.

"Either way, usuratonkachi, you weren't going to come with me." Naruto tugged on his hair.

"Whatever, teme. You know I could kick your arse." Sasuke scoffed.

"As if you could ever stand up to me, dobe." He teased, scratching the tail still wrapped his arm. Naruto relaxed immediately, purring as a content smile appeared on his face. "See? You don't stand a chance." Naruto tried to glare, failing pathetically. Kisame hid his snigger behind a cough.

"Shut up, duck-butt. This is cheating and you know it." He accused, the severity of it lessening as he scooted closer, grabbing Sasuke's other arm and putting it near his ear. "I'll let you get away with it this time. Now, scratch." He defended himself, eyes closing as Sasuke, amused, did as he was told. While he was distracted, the raven looked at Kisame and Itachi.

"He's more affectionate than before, more open about his ears and tail. Your doing?" Kisame shrugged.

"Must be. Everyone at base takes pretty much every opportunity to pet him." Sasuke bit his lip, trying not to smile as he eyed the purring Naruto.

"I bet he loves that." The blue-skinned man rolled his eyes.

"He soaks up all the attention like a sponge." He narrowed his eyes, mock-angry. "Even uses it to get out of trouble." He accused. "Brat pranks everyone, runs to the nearest person and hides behind them, protesting his innocence. Everyone knows he's done it, but no one can actually stay angry at him." The raven snickered.

"Sounds like him. Does he still do the puppy-dog eyes to get his way?" Kisame crowed in triumph, pointing at Sasuke while looking at Itachi.

"See! He notices! He _does_ do the puppy-dog eyes. Proof!" Kisame insisted, jabbing his finger. "Proof!" Sasuke watched his brother remain straight faced.

"I'm afraid I still don't believe you, Kisame. He's never used any such technique in my presence." Itachi replied coolly, mirth shining in his eyes. Kisame transferred his finger to Itachi.

"That's because you cave to anything he wants!" Itachi blinked slowly, seemingly unaffected. But to Sasuke, well-versed in Uchiha body language, he seemed a bit sheepish and embarrassed. He was surprised that Itachi apparently catered to the blonde's every whim, and yet not. He knew that Naruto was damaged and somewhat insecure, though energetic and happy, and it drew people like Itachi – kind, peaceful people – like flies to honey.

"I do no such thing." Kisame grinned.

"Oh? Then why is it that I most often find you sitting somewhere with Naruto in your lap while you pet him as much as he likes?" Itachi's eyes stubbornly remained locked onto the fire, making Sasuke bite his lips again, shoulders shaking in silent laughter. "And I see you sharing your dango with him." Sasuke gaped – Itachi _shares_ his _dango_? He felt strangely robbed. He was Itachi's younger brother and he'd _never_ been offered some of Itachi's dango. He looked down at Naruto, who'd apparently fallen asleep against him, if the even breathing and extremely quiet purring was anything to go by. He slowly, carefully, stopped rubbing the blonde's ears and tail, trying not the wake him again.

"That doesn't prove anything." Itachi calmly stated.

"Liar." Sasuke coughed quietly, inwardly laughing at the glare Itachi sent him. Kisame's grin widened.

"And what about that time that he went up to you whining and you just –" Kisame stopped as a kunai went flying past his face, way to close for comfort. Itachi's arm was already lowering back down to his lap.

"It. Proves. Nothing." He said firmly. Kisame decided – rather wisely – to shut up and go to sleep, soon leaving the two brothers as the only ones left awake. Sasuke made a teasing noise in the back of his throat.

"Maa, I don't know about that." He drawled, unaffected by the glare Itachi levelled at him. A slow grin curled his lips. "Sharing your dango, Nii-san?" His eyelids lowered half-way, revelling in teasing his brother. "If I didn't know any better, I could almost say you have a crush…" Then he watched in both amazement and mirth as Itachi turned a bit pink.

"Don't be ridiculous!" His brother muttered, trying to save face. Sasuke rose an eyebrow, mock-severely.

"Naruto not good enough for you?" He asked mildly, keeping quiet for the sake of the two sleeping people.

Staring into the fire again, Itachi muttered, "It's not that. He's perfect." Sasuke sobered at that, hearing a wealth of self-depreciation in the words.

"But you think you're not good enough for him." It wasn't a question and Itachi didn't contest it, keeping quiet. Sasuke sighed. "Nii-san. I don't know why you killed the clan, but we can deal with that another time." Itachi looked at him. "The only reason I'm here is because Naruto trusts you. And you are kind to him, gentle." He looked at the blonde. "He needs that. The village mistreated him and abused him." He paused as Itachi's snarled quietly.

"More than that." He muttered, acid dripping from his tone. Sasuke closed his eyes to calm himself.

"The point is, you're helping him. I trust Naruto," He continued, "I know that if Naruto is going to be attached to new people, they usually have something that he respects and likes." He snorted. "No one that's truly evil would be able to gain his trust." He looked back up to his brother. "The amount people he trusts is so small, Itachi. Friends is one thing, especially back at the village. He didn't really trust any of them except Tsunade and Jiraiya. He grew up in a village that would beat him every chance they got – and suddenly, as soon as the genin teams are formed, the entirety of his year group become his friends in the space of a few months? As if." He snorted and then continued in a softer voice. "But I refuse to kill anyone he trusts. I won't hurt him like that." He frowned sadly. "The worst part is that I know that he'd forgive me instantly I killed you. He'd do anything I ask if he's capable of it with no care for his own well-being." He glared at Itachi. "If you ever hurt him, Kurama will have to get in line, because I know damn well that if you manage to get that close, he'll forgive you for anything." Itachi smiled gently.

"Otouto, I'll seek you out myself."

* * *

Pein blinked. Naruto was attached to Sasuke – more like hanging from him, _somehow_ –, who somehow managed to look both irritated and tolerant of the behaviour, while Kisame and Itachi ignored this as if it was commonplace.

"… Welcome back?" He hesitantly said, before mentally shaking himself. "My name is Pein. I am the leader of Akatsuki." Naruto butted in with his usual enthusiasm.

"He's an Uzumaki! And he's my second cousin, three-times removed?" He added, looking a little confused and non-verbally asking for help. Pein smiled a little.

"Close enough." He allowed, and walked away after saying his farewells. As soon as he was gone, Naruto jumped off of Sasuke and grabbed his wrist.

"I'll introduce you to my brothers and sisters," He grinned, tugging a little. Sasuke nodded, and immediately looked at Itachi and Kisame with a ' _help-me_ ' look as Naruto began dragging him off, which they pretended not to notice as Itachi waved at his little brother happily and Kisame snickered, walking off to his room.

* * *

Itachi put off telling the blonde how he felt for weeks, something he knew Sasuke found amusing. Personally, he felt that him not knowing what to do was perfectly reasonable – he was a clan prodigy that was pushed through the ranks quickly, spending most of his time doing training and missions while trying to find time for Sasuke. He may have felt some affection for Izumi, but he had considered it more of a clan obligation: Izumi had liked him (and he refused to consider his fan-girls), and she had been nicer than others, bringing him dango and making sure not to ask him about his missions or his training or his rank. He'd appreciated it.

Either way, he'd never _actively_ sought out another's affections. Why would he? Even in Akatsuki, they were almost constantly travelling. He'd had sex before, yes – not that anyone had known about it. It was after he'd joined the organisation, and nobody really questioned where you went when you weren't on a mission, so long as you were back within two days. What would be the point in constricting the members? They all had rings that allowed the leader to contact them at any time. But he'd kept the affairs discrete as only a former-ANBU genjutsu master would know how.

No, the issue lay in _feelings_. Itachi's whole life so far had been about being the perfect spy, the perfect shinobi, the perfect heir, the perfect older brother, and then being the perfect criminal, followed by being a sort-of family member to several Jinchuuriki. Though he'd felt several emotions during that time (primarily grief and guilt), he had never needed to worry about how people felt about him in return, something entirely new to him now.

He blinked, shaken from his thoughts by a wet feeling on his cheek. Looking down at the blonde in his lap, he noticed that Naruto no longer looked surprised when he licked him. It had been happening more often recently, and Itachi couldn't stop himself from licking back every time, something that utterly confused him. Since that first exchange, his playful returning lick, it had become almost habit, something he did unconsciously. Naruto would lick him in greeting, or just randomly when in his lap, and Itachi would do the same.

The rest of the members of the Akatsuki had become used to this by-play, and the other Jinchuuriki had accepted it from the start with a knowing look in their eyes, something that he wondered about. Although, he had to admit, Sasuke's reaction to the display was incredibly amusing. His otouto had turned a little green and, with his lip curling a little in disgust and horror, had rushed from the room. Naruto had pulled away, looking after Sasuke and sniggering.

Naruto hummed. "You're tense today." Itachi deadpanned.

"Tense from what? All I seem to do all day is pet you." Naruto nodded knowingly.

"Exactly. I should know. You're tense, relax." He closed his eyes, leaning his head against Itachi's shoulder. "I can smell the differences in your scent, you know."

"What differences?" Naruto looked up at Itachi through his lashes.

"What you're feeling." He touched his nose to the raven's neck, breathing deeply. He exhaled. "You smell agitated and confused and… sad." Itachi tensed, pulling his hands away. Naruto looked up at him, ears back and some unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. "You only smell like that when I'm with you. The other Jinchuuriki never smell that on you when they're with you." Naruto licked his jaw slowly. "I don't want you to be sad. Talk to me." Itachi stared at the blond in surprise.

"I like you." Naruto tilted his head, confused, before smiling happily.

"I like you too!" He shook his head, leaning back.

"That's not what I meant. I _like_ you, Naruto." Naruto didn't miss beat.

"Me too!" He said with his usual exuberance. Itachi sighed, frustration making his eyebrow tick. Naruto grinned, leaning forward. He licked Itachi's cheek affectionately. "Itachi." He said gently. "I like you too." He licked Itachi again, this time – for the first time – across the other man's lips. The raven's eyes widened.

"You…" Naruto nodded, ears twitching. "Why?"

"Because I like you." He shrugged. "You are kind to me, and you're fun to be around." The blonde snuggled closer, arms going around Itachi's waist. "I like your smile, your laugh. I love it when you laugh… and I hate it when your upset." Naruto's tail swayed behind him lazily. "I'd do anything… anything at all to make you happy." At that, Itachi frowned, pushing Naruto away with his hands on his shoulders. At the teen's confusion, the raven brushed his hand through blonde hair.

"Then stay with me. Be happy." Itachi smiled, closing his eyes and bumping his forehead against Naruto's. "Don't let me go, and I'll be happy." Naruto snorted playfully, tugging a little on his hair, making Itachi open his eyes. Blue eyes flashed red.

"As if I would stop chasing after you." He chided mildly, leaning forward and kissing Itachi full on the lips.

* * *

When Tsunade and Jiraiya stopped by – courtesy of frequent messages passed via Itachi's crows – four months after Itachi and Naruto go together, they were stunned by how much happier, honestly, truly _happy_ , Naruto was. They didn't fully realise how much the blond was suffering until that moment. Still, it was worth the awful revelation when Naruto tackled them both, talking a mile a minute with his tail waving in the air rapidly.

They laid there on the floor in stunned silence, just looking at the happy blonde, until Sasuke rounded the corner. He stopped, sighed, and picked the Jinchuuriki up by the collar and putting him back onto the floor feet first.

"Calm down, usuratonkachi. Let them get in first." Naruto pouted at him, making him roll his eyes before turning to Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama. Welcome." He greeted, nodding. They gaped at him. "What?"

"Why are you here?" Tsunade demanded. The raven deadpanned.

"The blonde idiot." Naruto snorted, turning away.

"Duck-butt." Without looking, Sasuke swiftly wacked the back of his head. "Teme."

"Why aren't you with Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked curiously. Naruto grinned at him, pain forgotten.

"We went to visit him and me and Sasuke killed Orochimaru while we were there. Then Sasuke came back with us!" The two Sannin sweat-dropped.

 _He just says it so casually._

* * *

 **This wasn't meant to be so long - it was _meant_ to be about 900-1200 words long, like _Just... Why?_ and _Again_ but, of course, nothing goes to plan. I am happy with this as it is though. Let me know what you think, and if you like, drop a few ideas that you would like done. I have got two lined up already ~ at the request of two reviews for _Again_ , so you do have those to look forward to - and they _will_ be mostly fluffy. See you soon!**

 **BP**


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